“..Hands down to one of the best metal gig in Hong Kong this year! As the night falls, Carcass, British’s grindcore / melodic death metal pioneer, push the night to the peak. After almost 10 years on hiatus, the band came back with new material, Surgical Steel, in 2013, and a series of live dates and festival performance to make a triumphant return. This absolutely flawless set is tight, moving and is able to convey complex emotion via deep, enduring death metal songs. Drum is steady and guitar is sleek. There is no competition for speed or technicality but a brutal harmony between instrument. Any real metal followers would appreciate this solid force. Even if it’s the first time you heard about Carcass, you’d be smashed by the live version of Heartwork and Corporal Jigsore Quandary during their encore. The band also show indescribable mutual understanding between members, which greatly elevates the show as a whole…”

「 …… We Came As Romans 以舊曲 To Plant A Seed 旋風式為演出打開序幕，馬上把現場氣氛推至頂點。對於六個表演者、尤其以爆炸性現場表演見稱的樂團來說，這個舞台着實較為狹窄。儘管你站在會場的哪一邊，都會有一個樂隊成員站在你面前演奏。他們非常友善的表現很快贏得全場樂迷的心——燦爛笑容，跳躍特技，握手擊掌，分享麥克風，拿樂迷手機自拍，甚至坐在台邊一同合唱……」

“…We Came As Romans storms the stage with oldie To Plant A Seed, immediately steams up the crowd. With six grown men occupying a narrow stage, it shows a bit of over-crowded especially for a band that’s known for their vigorous presence. No matter where you stand, you’ll have a band member playing right in front of you. Their extremely friendly gesture wins fans’ hearts in a glimpse – grinning wide, bouncing high, shaking hands, sharing mic, taking selfie and even a sit-and-sing session….”

“…Either way, this writer here can say Alissa White-Gluz is quite a competent candidate taking the torch to lead the critically-acclaimed metal titans, though it certainly takes time for her to fit in the band seamlessly. Every member of Arch Enemy still shine on their own, not letting Alissa to take full domination. Founding member and lead guitarist Michael Amott’s nerve-wracking riffs still kill like the old days. The smooth moves over the fretboard easily take your breath away. Later at the show, Jeff Loomis has his own solo session which catches the whole room’s eyes and ears. Amott then joins in and presents a guitar-god duo for your audible pleasure….”

近幾年 Emo 似乎有復興跡象，此時此刻這流派的代表人物 The Used 也決定到未曾踏足的城市。在這期待已久的一夜，大家在香港跟著樂團尖叫著「Take your hand, pick your up, and keep you there so you can see!」

“Because songs you listen to when you’re teens will influence you forever.”

Upon the emo revival movement, spokesman of the genre, The Used, also decide to storm cities they’ve never reached before with their irreplaceable anthems. This night, everyone in Hong Kong is screaming their lungs out as the noisemakers take your hand, pick you up and keep you there so you can see!

“…After stepping onto the road of independence, Our Last Night tastes an unusual success with pop hits covers – from crazy pop princess Miley Cyrus to stadium pop-rock band Imagine Dragons. This night the band decide to punctuate the original song list with Katy Perry’s Dark Horse groovy cover and remaking Adele’s James Bond theme song Skyfall – “This is the first song we covered!” Trevor shouts, although disappointingly the band hasn’t picked Swedish artist Tove Lo’s global hit Habits (Stay High) which in our opinion, is one of the finest cover they have produced so far…”

“…In While She Sleeps’ highly-rated new album, Brainwashed, they step up their writing skills and further refine their atmospheric composition play. The band decide to extend this epic, in-your-face energy to this live performance. There was no shortage of power or traces of exhaustion; the apocalyptic darkness is transformed into frantic fire crashing everyone’s hearts. They certainly take no prisoners to keep up with the hype. Whenever the fans slow down, they’d quickly fill up the tank to ensure the circle pit is running strong…”

“Boston hardcore legends Bane is here again in Hong Kong on March 8. Who would have thought seeing these guys in 2015 would mean saying goodbye forever? Bane announced their decision of breaking up in 2014 followed by extensive world tour and a few festival appearance as a farewell celebration with their supporters… Innocent smile, truthful stage presence, honest lyrics that teach you a life lesson, genuine speech on daily challenges – this night is way more than just another hardcore concert you have been to. Guess the sentimental atmosphere also comes from the disappointing decision of Chinese government of not granting the working visas to these Boston rockers, depriving their chance to say goodbye to their supporters in China. According to Aaron, Hong Kong has been a special place to the band and so they choose to play a few less common songs in live such as The Bold And The Beautiful…”

“The band hit the stage with a Chinese classic song as intro, making the crowd laugh and some front audience sing along. It seems to be their preference to add some sense of humour with their intro selection. In a few shows in the States, the band chose random movie music as the introduction of their blasting thrash set…”

“…Adept finally take a mid-show break and again put some beer down the gut to recharge themselves. Some audience yearn for a sip and frontman Robert Ljung hands a can to the one that shouts the loudest. It is a rejoicing moment for everyone. He express sincerely “We used to practice at the backyard of Jerry’s house with some friends. Now we have no friends but we have a band!” The crowd resumes to franticness as the show begins again and peaks at their breakthrough single At Least Give Me My Dreams Back, You Negligent Whore!”

“…At an OK Go concert, you are going to have everything you want. On July 24, a rainy summer night, OK Go comes back for their second concert in Hong Kong as musician, dancer, performer, artist, stand-up comedian and media-art curator. Even the band is famous for their low-budget and creative videos, they don’t fail any of us in live shows, where whereas with no prerecorded videos or take two…”

“…Avenged Sevenfold continue to drill your heart with older tunes like Critical Acclaim and Welcome To The Family. M. Shadows encourages the crowd “Tonight we are finally here. We’re all the family of Avenged Sevenfold!” Aren’t you all longing for that sense of belonging? M. Shadows steps up as the leader throughout the flame-resistant set with his frontman charisma while Synester Gates grabs your soul with his strong, hard-charging, enthusiastic stage presence. Unlike other metal bands who deliberately emphasize on bloody imagery and brutal violence as much as they can, Avenged Sevenfold haven’t used their 12-ft electronic wall to broadcast any horrifying videography. On the contrary, it is like a hard rock carnival where everyone celebrating the glorifying, straight-forward heavy music…”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

13. Behemoth – Live in Hong Kong

“…In a hot summer night, brainchild Nergal is bringing his resounding performance to Hong Kong after his tough battle with leukemia. The ghost-faced team enter the stage slowly, step by step as if they are some kind of possessed spirits arising from the unknown. Nergal raises the fire torches above his head with cross arms which puts everyone in silence like a scared ritual. The light turns down again and now, the Satan-worshipping night officially begins…”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

14. The Word Alive – Live in New York City (Annual Overseas Features)

Every year our team will choose some notable events and rising musicians to be introduced in our Overseas Features. This year, not only there were Concert Reviews and Interviews, we have also brought in Free Merchandise for our readers and an exclusive view of a highly-anticipated Album Release Party.

“…In the first part of our Overseas Features, our team caught The Word Alive’s performance at Irving Plaza in New York City as a preview of their highly-anticipated Asia Tour in April. Opening with 2012-release Dragon Bell with its mysterious electronic intro, the sunny-looking frontman Telle Smith ran to the edge of the stage in red light and scream his lungs out. TWA is known for their energy-filled live performance and the following 60 minutes would prove they didn’t earn it for nothing. The band became more furious song after song and there was no sign of exhaustion…”

“…Bastille used to stay in Brooklyn on the same block as I did whenever they were on tour in New York City. They were the top indie name at the time and their shows were always fully-packed with fashionable fans. Now in 2015, they are at the summit of their career armed by a BRIT Awards nomination and UK no. 1 album Bad Blood.

This modern rock project was once frontman Dan Smith’s solo project. His stand-out attitude still steals all the attention at the show. Smith dominates the stage with his charismatic, proactive stage presence while other members remain relatively silent. The extra set of drum and keyboard are prepared at the front so Smith can showcase his instrumental talents….”